Life After Recovery

America the Beautiful!

Hi Everybody,
I want to encourage you to search out and see a new documentary, AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL.  Filmmaker Darryl Roberts, in the spirit of Michael Moore, does a fabulous job connecting the dots between the beauty industry's profit motive and the skyrocketing rates of eating disorders, girls' poor self-esteem, and male chauvinism.  The film includes compelling interviews with Eve Ensler, NEDA's Lynn Grefe, and Monte Nido's Carolyn Costin, but it paints a bigger picture by exposing the effect of air-brushed ads on men's sexual attitudes; the true dangers of plastic surgery and the chemicals used in cosmetics; and the tough road of litigation against looksism.  There's even a segment on the rise in plastic surgery for animals, to illustrate just how far our country's obsession with superficial looks has yet to go.

The centerpiece of the film is a model who was walking the catwalks of New York fashion week at age 12. The designers who employed her forthrightly admitted that they use size 0 models in order to save money on fabric, and that they routinely pay models in clothing...which means they pay 0!

Read more at
http://www.americathebeautifuldoc.com/
The film is showing in Los Angeles and New York.  If it's playing near you, please go tomorrow to start the buzz and get energized.

Cheers!
Aimee

Last Call for your story!

Happy Labor Day everyone!
I want to thank all of you who have sent your letters about recovery for the book I'm compiling to benefit the Academy for Eating Disorders.  Your stories are remarkable and inspiring.

I also want to remind those of you who still would like to contribute, our deadline for submissions is Sept. 1.  They need to go to gainingthetruth@gmail.com

A recap of our project:
This will be a collection of YOUR voices sharing your individual stories and wisdom.  My goal is to trace the arc of recovery through your snapshots of life at the various stages of restoration and discovery that produce wellbeing.  I'm working with a fabulous team of therapists with the AED who will help select the letters for publication and provide resources for readers at the different stages of recovery.  I'll add my two cents along the way, and all proceeds from the published book will benefit the work of the AED in researching the causes, cures, and effective prevention of eating disorders.

If you'd like to contribute, please send to gainingthetruth@gmail.com  before next Tuesday:
- A letter describing your stage of recovery and especially what works for you right now to help you feel healthy.  Don't worry about writing "right."  Just write from the heart.  There's no target length or form, but bear in mind that we won't be able to publish letters longer than 3 or 4 pages.
- Let us know if we can identify you by your actual first name, or if you'd rather we use a pseudonym.
- Provide contact info, so we can find you if we have questions down the road.

We'll be selecting the letters over the next few weeks, and will let you know if your letter will be published.  Since this is a benefit project, I'm afraid no one will be paid (including me), but know that your words and wisdom will be of help both to our future readers and, through sales, to benefit the work of the Academy for Eating Disorders.

Have a wonderful holiday weekend.
Be well always,
Aimee

New site for Male Athletes

Hello All,
I just received a note from Patrick Bergstrom, a former college lacrosse player recovering from a 4 year battle with anorexia nervosa.  Patrick just finished working with Lacrosse Magazine on a story about athletics and ED, which will be in the September issue. He is working with the NCAA to reach out to college students and athletes. His is such a rare and much needed perspective, and he's now made it his mission to reach out and help others on the college level. So I thought I'd post his new website www.ichosetolive.com

I also want to encourage you all to keep your letters coming for our AED benefit book on the stages of recovery!  Our editorial team will be reviewing, selecting, and organizing the letters for the book in the next few weeks.  Thank you so much to those who have sent your stories already.  And if you're interested in contributing, please try to email your letters to gainingthetruth@gmail.com by Sept. 1.  There are no format or length requirements, no "rules." Just write from the heart and tell us what recovery means in your life and what is working best for you right now.

Be well!
Aimee

WHAT WORKS FOR YOU?

Dear friends,

How are you? 

Let me re-phrase that. How are you most you?

I really want to know the answer because I believe it is central to the process of recovery. And I am asking you because I’d love to include your stories in a new book I’m developing to benefit the Academy for Eating Disorders’ efforts to prevent eating disorders.

So many books about ED focus on the suffering. But for those trapped in the spiral of suffering, it’s recovery that holds the mystery. So my aim this time around is to help de-mystify the process of recovery by presenting current perspectives from individuals at the different stages of the process.  I hope the resulting book will offer tangible information and inspire hope.

Here’s what we need to know:

1. Where are you in your recovery process, and

2. What helps you feel most engaged and alive, day to day? That can include leisure activities, relationships, insights, observations, beloved places, practices, meaningful work, spiritual or philosophical beliefs – you name it.

3. Would you like me to attribute the letter to your actual first name, or to a pseudonym?

4. How can we reach you if we have follow up questions?

 

If you would like to contribute to this project, please send your letter of recovery before September 1, 2008, to gainingthetruth(at)gmail.com [Note that (at) means @ -- I’m trying to avoid auto-spammers!] Also, this book will consist primarily of letters, not interviews, so feel free to write as fulsomely as you wish.  

We should be able to let you know in a few months if your letter will be published.

Your story will be helping not only the readers of this new book but also the many patients and families who rely on the research, information, and education that the Academy for Eating Disorders supports. For more about the AED, please visit www.aedweb.org

 

Thanks so much for your life, your wisdom, and your words.

Aimee

 

Aimee Liu

Gaining: The Truth About Life After Eating Disorders